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She-Ra
In the mid-1980s, Mattel's Masters of the Universe franchise was a hit with young boys. Mattel, the creators, decided to also try and go for the market of young girls, expanding the franchise's appeal. The result was She-Ra, AKA Princess Adora. She-Ra was introduced in "The Secret of the Sword", a theatrical animated movie in 1985. Adora was a military leader of "the horde", an evil, well, horde led by Hordak (who can be best described as an inferior version of Skeletor, despite mentoring and later being betrayed by him). It turns out she was abducted by the horde as a baby, and she had a twin brother. This information is revealed to her after a complicated series of events involving He-Man, dimensional travel, a "Sword of Protection", and the Sorceress, and it turned out her brother was He-Man (naturally). Adora took the Sword of Protection and transformed into She-Ra, teaming up with He-Man to defeat Skeletor and Hordak. On a side note, Hordak had planned to kidnap both Adam and Adora. However, as Man-at-Arms interrupted the kidnapping, only Adora was taken. The Sorceress, who could not find what dimension Hordak escaped to, wiped all memory of Adora from everyone except herself, Man-at-Arms, and the King and Queen of Eternia. In terms of powers and personality, She-Ra is essentially a female He-Man, aside from the backstory and that her sword can be damaged, unlike He-Man's, rendering her unable to transform. She also has limited healing powers. She-Ra had her own animated series, produced by Filmation, a few months after the movie (which, aside from the main heroine, consisted of no-name characters), as well as a Christmas special starring her and her brother, and of course her own toyline. However, as the franchise began to wane in the late 80s, so too did her popularity. The series ended in 1986, and her toys stopped being produced in 1987. He-Man's toys stopped being produced a year later, in 1988. The next blow came when Filmation dissolved in 1989-no other series since then was quite as memorable as the 1980s versions. She-Ra did not appear in the live-action film in 1987, as the producers wanted to save her for a potential sequel. Said sequel never happened, as it was rewritten into a movie called "Cyborg", starring Jean-Claude van Damme and having no relation to any cartoons. Nor did she appear in the 1990 series. The 2002 series, the final animated incarnation of the franchise, did have Hordak as a villain, but did not have She-Ra herself. She-Ra hasn't quite passed into oblivion yet-she still makes sporadic appearances in DC's He-Man comics. But these comics are even more sporadic in their publishing dates-miniseries can pop up randomly, and the two ongoing series have finished. She-Ra never reached the heights of popularity her brother did. Nor did she, or any one of the Masters, reach their former 80s glory again. But she is fondly remembered by a generation of little girls who grew up in the 80s-and sometimes, that's all you need to become a classic.